Construction Industry News
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has determined that additional requirements for the safety of batteries of electric vehicles should come into effect from October 1, 2022.
In response to electric vehicle fire incidents across the country, the ministry had assembled an expert committee chaired by Tata Narsingh Rao, director of ARCI, Hyderabad, to recommend additional safety requirements in the existing battery safety standards reported under the CMV Rules.
Based on the recommendations of the committee of experts, the ministry last week made changes to the requirements for motor vehicles with less than four wheels that run on an electric powertrain, and changes to specific requirements for four-wheel EVs that carry passengers and goods.
These changes include additional safety requirements related to battery cells, battery management system, on-board charger, battery pack design, thermal propagation due to internal cell short circuit leading to fire, etc.
"The notification to mandate amended AIS 156 and AIS 038 Rev.2 standards for the respective categories of electric vehicles with effect from October 1, 2022 is in progress," the statement said.
The Ministry has also issued Draft Notice GSR 659(E) dated August 25, 2022 to amend Sub-Rule 4 of Rule 124 of Central Motor Vehicle (CMVR) Rule 1989, for mandating Conformity of Production (COP) for traction batteries used in electric powertrain vehicles. The proposed regulation will also apply from 1 October 2022.
The Ministry obtained comments and suggestions from all stakeholders within a period of 30 days.
In response to the EV fire incidents, the Department of Roads has formed two committees, one to review testing criteria and standards and the other to investigate the reasons for fires. The investigation found that many batteries had cells connected in an unsafe manner and some of them lacked a ventilation mechanism to dissipate heat in the event of overheating.
In April, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government would issue quality-oriented guidelines for EVs.
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